


new game plus

by bandsaw, mangogenic



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Autistic Kamukura Izuru, Co-Written, F/F, F/M, Fuck Canon, Hinata Hajime & Kamukura Izuru Are Twins, M/M, Multi, Nonbinary Kamukura Izuru, Not Canon Compliant, Texas, everyone's around early 20s, technically a slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23600809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bandsaw/pseuds/bandsaw, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangogenic/pseuds/mangogenic
Summary: For sure, if there was any day someone wouldn't want to fall asleep swathed in black on a metal bench, it was this one.That would be an odd metaphor, if it weren't word for word the situation Izuru Kamukura had found themselves in.--izuru kamukura wakes up in some very strange circumstances. separated from hajime, without anything to their name, and in what looks to be an alternate universe, it's not a good time.or, the fic where dr2 gang gets yeeted to earth but if danganronpa didn't exist as a franchise
Relationships: izuru kamukura and akane owari (platonic)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31





	1. >start new game

**Author's Note:**

> hi we're back on our bullshit
> 
> welcome to the prologue. this is just some exposition for what we're changing to canon. basically everyone's yeeted to earth bc why not, but if danganronpa didn't exist as a franchise bc that'd be awkward. aka the better earth.
> 
> enjoy the ride! characters will be added as we go along

it has been two years since the events of the neo world program. 

some handled it better than others. it... went without saying everyone was left with a great deal of trauma.the ultimate despair had sunk her claws into class 77, refusing to let go even after she was gone for good. two years of therapy went a long way, though. makoto wasn't called the ultimate hope for nothing.

things had gone a bit differently than expected, to be frank. the tragedy passed by quickly to most, but in reality, it'd taken months of preparation, let alone execution. junko lodged herself into the minds of those who would become ultimate despair one by one, slowly twisting together their insecurities and fears until they couldn't tell the difference. for izuru though, locked in hope's peak's basement for who knows how long... 

that story went a little differently. it wasn't easy to break the ultimate of ultimates after all. at first they cooperated, but after the student council incident and junko's subsequent blackmailing, she'd made it clear this was anything but a partnership. 

and yet they stayed, more afraid of the consequences of leaving than staying. 

chiaki lived to see the end of the tragedy. she was not part of ultimate despair, rather, a survivor just like the rest of towa city. It was by a stroke of pure luck she'd helped izuru escape, starting the process of undoing months of abuse on her former friend. 

from there, izuru made a plan. 

despair was never what they wanted. hope wasn't either, but if despair won this battle... well, it meant junko would win. and they didn't like junko very much. 

one by one, they'd lead the newly-created future foundation to the ultimate despairs. together they'd follow through with the foundation's plan to revert their memories - with a slight catch. 

one final test, to see if despair could lose in the first place (and if hajime could be brought back instead of izuru - they didn't exactly ask to be created). 

the class would go in the program as normal, with the exception of chiaki. a portion of her consciousness would be converted to an ai and watch from the sidelines. a failsafe if anything went wrong, but also the foundation's way in once izuru put in the junko ai. they would only be able to observe - they couldn't have them interfering too early.

a risky plan, but it worked.

almost. 

izuru was supposed to disappear completely. instead, a part of them came back, living inside hajime's subconscious. one eye red, one green. 

it was awkward at first, to say the least. hajime made it quite clear in the final trial that he wasn't a fan of izuru. it took one night for that to start changing, the night when hajime tried to cut his hair and izuru screamed for him not to. 

they talked more. their relationship has always been a sour one, but an understanding had to be reached. izuru couldn’t leave, no matter how much they may have wanted to. day by day, they both grew to accept that this was reality now. 

together they made improvements to the real jabberwock island, and eventually the rest of the world. nagito got a new hand. fuyuhiko got a proper eyepatch. soon after, they drifted, not to spread despair as they once had but to spread hope for the future instead. the more social of them managed to keep them from drifting apart for good. events and yearly gatherings at the island became a regular occurrence. still, over time, everyone grew to start living their own lives. some stuck with the foundation's work, others elected to fade away to something more resembling normalcy. 

everything they'd grown to accept as part of their daily lives was about to be torn away from them. here, some talents are dulled, less sharp than they used to be. others remain unchanged. normalcy becomes strange, just one unknown in a sea of other questions.   
  
for class 77, there’s only one question that remains. where are they? who are they truly?

… and how did they get here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are my lifeblood


	2. don't mess with texas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> izuru wakes up
> 
> izuru is not okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> da gang! we're in texas
> 
> yeehaw

  
  
She couldn’t help but wonder how she had gotten there, splayed upon the hard-packed earth that lined the highway. An ache was already pulsing in the crook of her neck, drawing a hiss from her as she slipped into consciousness.    
Refreshingly cool air and the bleak grey sky that appeared just before dawn were dead giveaways to the time, but other than that, there was no trace of where she was, or even how she had gotten there.    
  
The activity on the highway was sparse, but not bereft. One or two vehicles would zip by every so often, blaring music in a language that she thought she recognized. Each one bathed her in a strong gust of air that made her thankful for the dark hoodie hugging her torso.

  
It wasn’t until a cargo-truck passed that an idea popped into her mind, and then she was moving.   
  


Calloused hands gripped onto the thin edge of a sign, its surface digging into her palms. She successfully pulled herself up, flimsy material deforming and threatening to snap as her weight eased onto it.    
All tension was gone from the sign not a moment later. The metal snapped back up into its natural position as she leapt from the frail surface, which effectively worked as something of a springboard.   
  
Her hands just barely caught the lip of the streetlight, and she managed to hang on with the tips of her fingers. She sucked in a breath, grunting. The surface was slick, and her jaws tightened with effort, every muscle straining to get her up onto the solid structure. She scrambled onto the top of the light after struggling for a bit, a victorious laugh escaping her.    
  
Like clockwork, the headlights of a truck Illuminated the highway below, and adrenaline pumped through her veins.    
She was on top of the light for only a second longer, trusting her senses and launching herself from the platform.   
Her momentum carried her for a split second through the air, before gravity caught up to her form, and she plummeted.    
  
She just barely landed upon the roof of the truck, rolling and nearly vaulting off of the side.    
She caught herself though, the air escaping her body and becoming one with the strong wind that buffeted her form. Pride swelled in her chest, a triumphant yell blooming from it.   
  
The truck continued onward, unaware of its new cargo.    
  
~~~   
  
  
"Thanks for the weather, Dave!"    
  
Texas wasn’t exactly known for being cold, but it was particularly bad that day. Even for July, drop dead in the dog days of summer. The heat warped the air, and all over, people seemed to be fanning themselves with newspapers and flattened hands.   
  
For sure, if there was any day someone wouldn't want to fall asleep swathed in black on a metal bench, it was this one.    
  
That would be an odd metaphor, if it weren't word for word the situation Izuru Kamukura had found themselves in.   
  
Izuru bolted upright. A bad move, as the humidity instantly made their head spin. Their hand went up, brushing aside their bangs-   
  
Bangs?    
  
Hajime doesn’t have bangs. Izuru froze completely, wide-eyed and head bowed low. Slowly, the world started coming together. The suit they could see themselves wearing, the long hair, the- was that  _ Kidzbop? _ They looked up, finally starting to absorb their surroundings. The sky was a bright blue, people were minding their own business - save for the few staring at them - shops were open. It was... normal.   
  
Was it, though? This was... all so fast. The world was certainly recovering, but if this level of progress had been achieved, the class would have been notified! Wherever they were... This was progressing way too fast. What the fuck? This was very obviously not Jabberwock. Was this even their Earth?   
  
Izuru looked back down, gripping their pants leg tightly.

_...Hajime? _   
  
Normally, Hajime would answer immediately. Normally, he’d be in control in the first place. This time, Izuru heard nothing back.    
  
Izuru quickly stood up, definitely startling a few passerby (Not that they cared). Taking another look around, the city looked pretty big. Somewhere south? Dallas, maybe? Definitely America. Strangely enough, they couldn’t immediately determine an exact location. That was worrying, but wanting to prevent a public panic attack, Izuru made themselves move on. Their legs were more than a little shaky, and they were keenly aware of just how out of place they looked.   
  
...And that it was really fucking hot.    
  
Air conditioning sounded great right about now. They fervently avoided the Claires that they had woken up outside of, though. Eventually they reached the place the muffled news report was coming from (A pizza parlor, by the looks of it?). Izuru nearly did a double-take. The news station had slowed the footage down some, and thanks to that, it was obvious to Izuru, at least, who this was.   
  
Deep brown, choppy hair surrounded the youth’s face. A hood cast a shadow that obscured most of the woman's face… but there was an air of familiarity to her.   
  
Drawing closer to the open door of the establishment, Izuru could catch some of the audio coming from the local news station.    
  
"This morning, and you won't believe this, a young woman was spotted on top of an eighteen wheeler heading towards San Antonio!” 

The lightbulb above Izuru’s head flickered on.    
  
...Akane?   
  
Something in their gut said that was right. They couldn’t think of literally anyone else that would voluntarily jump on top of a truck of that size. Well, at least they weren’t alone. That was probably a good sign.    
  
San Antonio it is.   
  
Except...    
  
They had no idea how to reach San Antonio.   
  


Fuck. Well.. That wasn’t much of a problem so long as they could get access to a computer.    
If Dallas had a subway-Izuru patted their pockets.   
  
Empty.    
  
…And no bag.    
  
Meaning no money or identification.    
  
Great.   
  
They’d have to either steal a bike or hitchhike somehow. Izuru sighed. Socializing, the one thing they were bad at. They already didn’t fit in. Maybe if they were lucky, Akane would have some money on her and Izuru could get some more suitable clothes.   
  
Reluctantly, Izuru took their jacket off and tied it around their waist. Looking around, they spotted a library right across the street. Despite whatever this was, luck seemed to be on their side.   
With complete disregard for traffic, Izuru sprinted across the street and nearly slammed the door open. The cool air blasting their face was about the best thing that’d happened to them in the five minutes since they’d woken up.    
The nearest computer was unoccupied, and Izuru made a beeline towards it. The second that their ass touched the seat, they opened up Google and began typing about anything related to hitchhiking that they could find.

  
Barely five minutes into Izuru’s impromptu research, the bell attached to the door rang.    
They did their best to ignore the loud footsteps that entered the establishment, brow furrowing as they stubbornly typed something into the hot bar.    
  
  
A kind looking, very large white man with a pot belly tapped on Izuru’s shoulder.   
  
Izuru shuddered, but before they could tell the man to go away, he had begun talking in a thick country accent.   
"Howdy there youngin! I'm big Jimmy Joe, I run that there pizza parlor ‘cross the street. You were sleepin’ on that bench, no? Seemed real dizzy when you finally woke up- why- I was startin’ to get worried! ‘Been there since I clocked in.”    
  
He leaned forward, spotting the words that Izuru was still typing.    
  
“Well that ain’t safe. Need a ride?" he asked.   
  
Oh  _ hell  _ no.    
  
Izuru whipped around, took one look at the man and immediately turned back to the computer.    
“I’m fine.”   
  


Big Jimmy Joe raised his bushy blonde eyebrows, surprise painted on his face.    
"If you're one of them bloodsuckers I won’t tell nobody." He joked, attempting to get Izuru out of their sourpuss mood.    
He handed Izuru a small business card.    
"If ya change your mind, I’m just a crosswalk away. My daughter, little Jill, that rascal, she owes me a favor. I reckon driving you where you need to go oughta do!"   
Jimmy Joe turned, tipping his baseball cap to the librarian, who completely ignored the man as he exited her library.   
  


Izuru decided to ignore the vampire comment.    
  
The man had given them a card with an address that Izuru had to assume belonged to the pizza place from before. Jimmy Joe’s Pizza Emporium? At least it was close by, though that did mean going back out into the heat.    
  
Izuru spent the next half hour googling any form of transport that didn’t involve some sort of awkward socialization. When that didn’t pan out, they despondently resorted to returning to the pizza shop.    
  
It appeared to be a family business, its television still reporting the news. They glanced at the TVs, just in case, but they’d seemed to have moved on from the runaway Akane. A bell jingled as Izuru walked in, hair frazzled and definitely not from the area.   
  


A young woman, clearly also too emo to be in Texas, met Izuru’s eyes. There was solidarity between them for a moment. 

  
That solidarity wasn't strong enough to stop the girl from popping up from where she was slumped behind the counter, and yelling, "PA I'M DRIVING THAT HITCHHIKER YOU TOLD ME ABOUT," at the top of her lungs.    
  
A goth with a country accent was both utterly out of place but also somehow fitting. She half-jogged across the shop, stopping to let Izuru know that she was driving whether they got in the truck or not before bursting out of the glass doors like it was the first time she had seen freedom in a decade.   
  


... “What?” Izuru hadn’t even opened their mouth before the girl burst out the doors with so much gusto they were half-convinced the hinges would snap.    
  
They followed wordlessly. It wasn’t like their day wouldn’t get any weirder.    
  
Hopefully.   
  
\-    
  


Four hours in the Jimmy Joe’s Pizza Emporium delivery van wasn't as bad as four hours out in the boiling Texas sun...

...But it was pretty close. 

Izuru couldn't help but feel relieved as Jill screeched to a stop, and pointedly ordered them to get out. She didn't even wait for a thank you (probably a good thing) as she drove off, blasting some indie band maybe three people knew about. 

...San Antonio lay out in front of Izuru. 

If Akane was in Texas... Well. She'd be here.   
  
  


Thank fucking god. At least whatever her name was - they couldn’t be bothered to remember - was willing to drive them so far at all, but Izuru truly wished they’d never have to see her again.    
  
  
They were, to put it mildly, really fucking tired. But they were on a mission.   
Izuru had no clues on Akane’s location. All they knew was that she was in San Antonio, but they’d trust in their luck. In whatever world they were in, it still seemed to work. After all, despite how rancid the ride here was, it was better than not having a ride at all.    
  
Taking a quick look around, Izuru picked the smallest and likely shadiest bar they could find. Even if Akane wasn’t there, someone may have seen her. Walking in, Izuru was once again greeted with more than a few people stopping what they were doing to stare at them.   
  


Akane was on the outskirts of the bar.    
  
(Yeah. Izuru’s luck was definitely working here.)    
  
She seemed to be in the middle of trying to convince the waiter to let her order chicken tenders with yen when the bar went quiet…   
  
...Too quiet.    
  
Even at half past three, the backwater bar had a consistent, low hum of conversation, and as the door opened, the only trace of noise left was the cracked TV playing football reruns.    
  
She whipped her head around to glare at whoever had entered.    
  
..Izuru?    
  
Izuru Kamukura?    
  
Akane didn't even try to hold in her ensuing "OH SHIT!"   
  


The heads promptly turned from Izuru to her.   
  
Akane popped up out of her seat, snatched her yen back from the distracted waiter, and  _ bolted. _ _   
_   
She snatched Izuru’s arm as she went, pulling them out of the doors and into a back alley before anyone could even fully register what was happening.    
  
"Hajime!?"

Great. Izuru didn’t even resist as Akane dragged them out. They expected that to happen, knowing Akane’s energy.   
  
Hajime, though...    
  
Izuru closed their eyes and sighed. Today was not a good day. “I have told you to stop calling me that when I am fronting. However, Hajime no longer appears to be present at all. I hope you understand how much of a problem this is.”

Akane blinked at them. "Oh, haha, yeah."   
She seemed more or less completely serious as she looked Kamukura up and down. Her straight face cracked into a toothy grin before she broke down laughing.    
  
"I'm still not convinced this isn't a fever dream. Pinch me or somethin!"   
  


“The heat should be enough of an indicator that this is real,” They responded coolly.    
The possibility briefly entered their head that it could be virtual, but that idea left as soon as it came. Izuru wobbled a little.    
“I very much wish this was a ‘fever dream’. If I haven’t accidentally taken over Hajime’s body and this is in fact my own, I don’t appreciate it.”   
  


Akane rolled her eyes and made a quick quip, but it was clear that wasn't what she was focused on.    
Izuru was practically swaying on their long legs, and there was a sheen of sweat appearing on their pale forehead.   
It was clear that the heat (and probably shock) was getting to them.   
  
Akane held out the darkest hair tie she owned, the last one left on her wrist, and eyed Izuru expectantly.

They barely registered the hair tie, just kinda…   
not so carefully sat themselves on the ground. Slender hands wrapped around their legs, their face becoming lost behind all the hair.   
  
Silence lingered between the two for almost a full minute, before Akane crouched down.

"I don't know how you are with touching, but I kind of have to," she said, and Izuru didn’t have to see her face to register the concern lacing her tone.    
  
  
Akane counted down from three before lifting Izuru with what seemed like no effort, and began down the streets of the city.  
  
They only jolted a little when they were picked up. Izuru’s brain seemed to be working at only a minimal capacity, otherwise they'd be objecting profusely. Eyes were sliding shut, half-open and not paying any attention to what was going on around them. The only thing that they registered was the subtle bouncing that came with Akane’s movements, which only served to lull them deeper into their trance.  
  
  
They were in the thick of San Antonio, and finding any store which wasn’t absolutely packed was… Surprisingly difficult. The streets were full of people, milling around all of the shops that could have been useful if they were empty. The only benefit to the crowd was the fact that nobody had noticed how strange Akane and Izuru were. It took a long while of wandering, but eventually Akane found a relatively low profile shop. In fact, it was completely empty. The employee behind the counter seemed more tired than anything.  
  
Akane had enough experience to know that trying to fool this employee would only raise suspicion.   
She moved towards the back of the store, and a knowing glance towards the clerk later, the two were sitting in the walk-in cooler.  
  
  
Izuru was almost unconscious. A blast of cold air from the freezer made quick work of waking them up, however.   
They nearly panicked at the feeling of someone touching them, but just as they were about to beat the shit out of whoever was behind them, their hair fell in a thick braid against their shoulder.   
Akane seemed satisfied with that, and after making sure that she was properly out of the camera’s view, settled down.   
  
Izuru blinked back into some measure of focus, leaning against the cool surface of the wall. Curiosity got the better of them as they reached a slightly shaking hand up to brush their forehead. The scar was still there.  
...Izuru wasn't sure if that was a good thing.   
  
Their hand fell back into their lap. Curling up a bit more, Izuru turned to look at Akane, opening their mouth to speak. Nothing came out. Overstimulation, most likely.  
Izuru opted for shutting their eyes Instead. They reached down to roll up the sleeves of their dress shirt.  
Still, they could feel Akane’s eyes upon them. It definitely didn’t help how violently their hands were shaking.   
For a beat, there was nothing but the sound of Izuru’s heavy breathing between them.   
  


"Take your time," Akane finally said.    
  
Izuru’s eyes snapped open to see her subtly slipping a couple of sodas into her empty bag.   
They stared, somewhat startled.   
Akane nonchalantly looked up, meeting their eyes.   
"I can try to get you something. Water?"   
Izuru tore their eyes away, wrapping an arm around their stomach.    
It wasn’t very often that Hajime let himself get to this state.    
But... Izuru could guess what it was easily enough.    
  
Right. People needed food.    
  
“How-” Izuru coughed, clearing their throat. “How often does the average human eat on a daily basis.”    
  
"More than you've eaten,” Akane assured with a knowing stare. She placed a water bottle down next to them.    
  
"You're going to drink that water, and then we'll get food.”    
  


Izuru grumbled something vaguely human and snatched the water bottle. They turned it in their hands, watching the water slosh in its plastic confine.    
They finished that quickly enough, opened the water bottle with only a bit of difficulty, and began downing it.   
That helped jumpstart their brain a little.   
They sat up from their slumped position. Already, Izuru’s eyes seemed more focused, as if nothing had even happened.    
They looked to Akane, who was zipping up her backpack.    
  
"Do you know how? I have no currency of any kind, and from what I saw you seem to have very little."

It seemed like a simple enough question, but Akane’s eyes had darkened at the words. She slung her backpack over her shoulder, and walked out of the freezer.    
Izuru blinked, surprised, but scrambled up from their spot to follow.    
  
  
Akane was waiting for them outside of the store.    
  
Izuru opened their mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off by Her.    
  
"I have plenty of experience,” she mumbled, before bringing Izuru to a well lit bench.    
  
Akane pointed at the shop name, which was a very bad pun about doughnuts, and repeated it out loud.    
“Krispy Kreme.”   
  
Akane didn’t explain herself any further, just instructing Izuru to sit and stay still before she was gone.   
  
In place of saying anything, Izuru sat obediently and waited.   
  
Though, as it turned out, sitting in front of a doughnut store and waiting for someone to procure food from an unknown location wasn’t the best for the psyche.   
  
Every gust of wind, each time a patron entered or exited the establishment behind them.... Something as simple and basic as waiting shouldn’t have bothered them so much, but... here they were.   
It was only another reminder that they weren’t just some  _ thing _ chilling in Hajime’s brain.   
  
They were human.    
  
They fully existed now, whether they liked it or not. That terrified them. To Izuru, their blurry eyes and racing heartbeat were good enough indicators that they were afraid, despite how unfamiliar the emotion was.   
Desperately, Izuru patted their pocket, forgetting for a moment they had nothing on them. With Hajime, there was usually at least something in one of his pockets to keep them occupied - a coin, or a bottle cap, or _ anything. _ They supposed they had took that for granted.    
  
Their hand moved from their pocket to tug a lock of hair out of their messy braid. It was long enough now to fiddle with anyways, though Izuru was probably pulling a little too hard.

  
They just had to wait.    
  
\-    
  
Wherever Akane had been, she took forever.    
  
She returned with.. Seemingly not that much food. The bags of stale-looking bread and chips she had with her certainly didn’t look very appetizing.   


Sitting down on the bench next to them, Akane pulled out a loaf of bread and tore off a chunk for herself. She didn’t seem to mind how stale it was, chewing happily as she tossed a bag of nacho chips towards Izuru.    
  


Izuru didn’t even try to catch it. The bag landed harmlessly in their lap as they stared wide-eyed at the ground.    
  
This, too, reminded them all too much that they were human.    
  
"If you don't like those chips... there are other ones?" She offered, eyebrows drawing together as she looked towards the chips.    
  


"Not hungry."   
  
Izuru set the bag to the side. It was a blatant lie, but Izuru was sure that if they ate anything right now they'd just hack it up later from the sheer stress of their situation. The blurriness behind their eyes was getting worse.    
  
Something wet slid down their cheek, and as Izuru reached up to touch it they realized it was a tear. They were crying. "...That's new."

  
  
People were starting to stare at the two, and Akane couldn't really do anything but take another ravenous bite of bread.    
  
"Hajime has cried a few times, hasn't he?" She asked, her mouth still full of bread.   
  


" **I'm not Hajime,** "   
It was honestly a miracle Izuru wasn't stuttering. It also hit them with an almost physical force that they'd said that with far too much certainty.    
  
They hoped that, somewhere, Hajime was still alive.   
  
Scarlet eyes grew even wider and Izuru bent over, head clutched in their hands. "I-I'm not..."   
  


"You’re not," Akane agreed, wrapping her arms around herself   
"But, weren’t you... you know.. in him? Did you-"   
She shook her head, a perplexed expression plastered upon her face.    
"You gotta admit, it's pretty confusing."   
  


"Yes, I was, and now I'm not," Izuru was shaking. "I..."    
They took a deep, if shaky breath.    
"This shouldn't be possible- it  _ isn't  _ possible with any current technology. I shouldn't be alive."

"Getting transported to a different world also isn't possible," Akane deadpanned.   
  


"I know," they said through clenched teeth. Izuru sighed. Finding irregularities was what they were good at, but it was different when there was no rational explanation for what was happening.   
"It isn't possible, and yet it's happened. I'm not possible, but presumably, I have my own body. There's... there's nothing logical about any of this."   
  


Akane sighed, absentmindedly picking at her ear. "Well, neither of us have woken up from this yet. I mean, I’ve dreamt enough to know that this isn’t a dream. Might be best to throw logic to the wayside at this point!"   
  


Izuru's next breath came out as a barely choked-back sob, hands gripping their hair hard enough to hurt.    
  
"I can't. That's not possible, I can't just... you don't understand."   
  


  
  
  
Akane cleared her throat. "Ok ok ok,” she exclaimed, “You’re all about logic right? So logically... our next course of action  _ after eating _ should be...." She paused, experimentally glancing at Izuru. "Finding Hajime...?"   
  


"I... yes," they took a few more deep breaths, calming down enough to let go of the deathgrip on their hair.    
Izuru wiped away their tears as if they hadn't been worryingly close to completely breaking down. A plan slowly started to formulate itself.    
  
"Both of us landed in heavily populated areas. Since you and I are present and obviously alive, it wouldn't be incorrect to assume the rest of our class is also present. It's possible they may be located in areas outside of America, which at the moment we can't reach."    
  
Izuru snatched the bag of chips, tore it open, put one in their mouth, then immediately spit it out.    
"Awful. As I was saying, I believe for now we should focus our attention on states near Texas, as those are the ones we can feasibly reach. If you have a phone, paying attention to social media may help as well. It's entirely possible one of us may try establishing contact that way."   
  
"No phone," Akane answered in between bites.    
  
Izuru crumpled the bag some and handed it to Akane, exhaling in disappointment at her answer.   
  
"Regardless, I don't think it's a coincidence we landed in very populated areas. I'd focus on those cities first."   
  


Akane gave Izuru a loaf of bread instead of the chips, holding up a jar of peanut butter in offering.   
  
Izuru just took the bread, experimentally stuffing some in their mouth. "Boring..."    
  
Akane hummed, ignoring Izuru’s comment about the bread.    
"You don't have like... Psychic twin powers, right? Kidding, Kidding,” She glanced at Izuru, making sure they weren’t going to kill her. After confirming that, she continued. “What if there aren't even people near us?”

Izuru shook their head. “I am not psychic. Though, your concerns are valid. There are only seventeen of us, and hundreds of countries, assuming this Earth works like ours did before the Tragedy. I feel it would be best to operate under the assumption that this is correct."

"Yeah, we'll say this world is like ours but less shit," Akane agreed. "Besides! Which states are close to Texas anyways? Like, California?"   
  
  
"The states bordering Texas are not highly populated - and no, California isn’t one of them. I propose we go east, as that has more states to travel through than we would if we went west. At the very least, this slightly increases our chances of finding someone." Izuru sighed, reluctantly eating more bread. At least that was one trait with Hajime they shared - they were both apparently picky eaters.    
  
"I don't know how we'll get from state to state though? I don't have a lot of money." She pushed a jar of jam towards Izuru, seeing their reaction to the bread.   
  
Izuru took the jam, but without a knife they couldn’t properly spread it. They paused and then resorted to very carefully pouring some on the bread. That made it more soggy as opposed to less boring, but for now they'd take what they could get.    
  
"I got here by hitchhiking. Not the safest method, but there are two of us and we are both physically powerful,” Izuru answered. "My sanity nearly backfired. I've never met a goth Texan before today, and since arriving here, I hope I never meet another one."

  
"Do you even know English? Wait. Aren't You the smartest person in the world or some BS? Do you know every language?" Akane questioned, eyeing Izuru.    
  


They took a moment to think. "I... am not entirely certain that's accurate. I am having difficulty determining what knowledge I have retained, but if I had to estimate, I would say I've lost roughly half of my skills."   
Izuru shut their eyes. "I do know English, among many others, but not all."    
  
Their eyes opened again once they'd calmed down enough to talk.    
  
"This puts more credence towards Hajime being alive, thankfully. I'll assume he kept the other half of our combined knowledge."

  
"So Hajime doesnt know English? That's tough," Akane drawled.   
  
"He might. We can test that if- when we find him." Izuru shook their head, correcting themselves.    
  
Akane nodded. 

  
"My impulse control didn't wake up on the side of the road with me, so I got here on the back of a truck." She raised an eyebrow. “Where did you wake up anyways?”    
  
Izuru glanced up at the mention of Akane on the truck.   
  
"I am aware. There was a news report on that incident in, I believe, Dallas, where I woke up on a metal bench."    
  
They shuddered at the memory of waking up near a Claire's and rubbed at the back of their neck, which was now rather sensitive.   
  
"Speaking of, the police are after you, though you at least had the foresight to cover your face.”    
  
"I know the police are after me. ‘S kinda stupid though! I was just hitching a ride."   
  
Izuru gave Akane a look before continuing. “We are also at least four hours ahead of Dallas, so for now we should be safe. Though I suggest we leave soon."   
  
“You got a ride for four hours, and it didn't backfire!?"    
  
She tossed the empty bread wrapper into a nearby trashcan, grabbing the Wholefoods brand Doritos.   
"I’m kinda impressed!"   
  
Akane sighed at the mention of leaving soon, despite her fairly chipper mood. "No sleep then? Ugh, what the hell, at least we have food for tonight."   
  
Izuru stretched like a lazy cat. "Leaving as soon as possible is our best option. We can worry about sleep once we're out of the state."   
  
...How much sleep did people need again?   
  


"I guess!" Akane shrugged, rolling up the bag of chips and standing. "I'm tired, and it's getting dark. We should look for a ride."   
  


"Mm." Izuru blinked slowly and got up.    
  
At least it was cooler now than before. Now Izuru didn't feel like they'd boil to death. "Do you know how to hitchhike? I was personally offered a ride, but I feel as though that isn't typically how hitchhiking works."   
  


"It's not." Akane said, voice flat. "I know how, but I'd rather not? It's not the safest form of travel."    
  
Izuru eyed her, crossing their arms.    
  
“Well- Not that I’m the figurehead of safety or anything. ‘S just I’ve had a couple bad experiences.”

  
She hesitated for a long second. "...I can probably get us a ride if we _ have _ to do it that way."

"That is our only option unless you can think of something else. A taxi costs money, as does most if not all public transport." Izuru shrugged.   
"Safety should not be an issue. As I've said, there are two of us. You are rather strong yourself and I am guessing I've kept at least most of my past strength."

Akane eyed Izuru’s skinny arms. "It's America. People carry guns," Akane reminded them.   
  
"If we are attacked, protecting myself is not a priority. Death is not something I'm concerned about." Neither was living, but they wouldn't get into that right now.

"Death is something _ I'm _ concerned about!"    
  
"I meant for myself. If you were attacked I would defend you, but my death would have no consequence." Akane rolled her eyes, grabbing Izuru’s sleeve and dragging them away from the bench. 

"Your death has consequences, idiot. Stop being emo!" Akane grunted. "Youre the super genius. Which way are we going?"   
  
Izuru said nothing in regards to their lack of self-preservation, letting themselves be dragged away. They looked up at the sky for guidance. "East. We are going in the right direction. A highway going this way would be preferable."   
  
Somewhere on the walk through San Antonio, Akane acquired a cardboard panel and a blue sharpie that seemed half out of ink.   
  
"What's the city closest to us? Uh.. That’s in the direction we're trying to go? Hey.. Where are we going, anyway?"   
  
Izuru turned their attention back to Akane once she grabbed their makeshift sign. "Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is roughly seven hours away, but that is the closest major city I can think of at the moment." 

They shrugged. "We are going east. A final destination is of no importance."   
  
"The destination is important when you hitchhike dude." Akane narrowed her eyes. "No one’s going to pick us up if we're asking for a 7 hour ride."   
  


"Unless we miraculously find a classmate's location between now and arriving at a highway, the closest I can get to having a destination is the state of Florida."    
  
Izuru took another moment to think. "Houston, then. That is only three hours away and moderately close to the Louisiana border."   
  


"Why Florida...?" Akane asked, quietly enough that she probably thought Izuru didn't hear. She scribbled "Houston" on the sign and continued walking.   
  


"That is the easternmost state. If we find no one before we reach Florida, that would be the point where we start traveling north instead."    
Izuru peeked over Akane's shoulder.   
"What is the point of making a sign?"   
  


"So the people you're hitching a ride from know where you want to go. Easier to see, too." She glanced back at Izuru. "You're gonna have to manage a smile."   
  


...Great. 

  
"I haven't done that before." Izuru was quiet for a moment, then twisted their features into what might have resembled a smile.   
  


"Close enough!"   
  


Izuru immediately shut their mouth, turning their eyes to the highway they were arriving at. "You can handle that part."

-   
  


One excruciatingly boring walk later and they'd arrived at a suitable spot, Izuru leaning against a road sign as Akane attempted hitchhiking.    
  
Izuru wasn’t sure how long they were waiting before a car finally pulled up, a brightly colored bumper sticker on it reading "DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS”    
  
Akane pumped her fist, dragging Izuru towards their ride. 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are my lifeblood


End file.
